Course Selections/Ideas

Colleges & Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>So I've been thinking a lot about which courses I want to take next year... And I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread so that us entering Smithies can talk about what we're thinking about taking and get advice from the much more knowledgeable Smith mafia. :D</p>

<p>Here's potential list.
I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE any input anyone has on my list. :D
(btw, I'm planning to major in Biochem, or if not Neuro and I'm also a STRIDE scholar)</p>

<p>I definitely want to take:
1. Cell Bio + Lab (I got a 5 on the AP Bio exam)
2. Chem I + Lab </p>

<p>I'm less sure about:
3. Linear Algebra (probably, tho this could change depending on my score on BC Calc)
I'm also the slightest bit tempted to take a language (either continue Spanish or take Hebrew) instead of math... but I'm afraid I would go through math withdrawal. :(
4. an FYS:
I'm most intrigued by Groves of Academe (Pat Skarda). But I'm also interested in Turning Points (Susan van Dyne) and Power of the Aesthetic in Italian Cinema (Anna Botta).</p>

<p>Thoughts???? What are you thinking of taking?</p>

2

<p>I don’t know anything about Smith course scheduling, (I’m not a Smithie, current or prospective) but your picks look great. Can you take 5 classes and include both the math and the language?</p>

3

<p>Cell bio plus chem plus linear algebra plus a language is a LOT in my opinion, without even adding in the FYS, especially your first semester. You may not even be able to schedule that because I bet the lab times will conflict with your other courses, so you should take that into account. Cell Bio and Chem 1 are both very demanding courses, and a language class would be pretty demanding as well, especially if you take a new language which will mean meeting 3 days a week instead of the normal 2. </p>

<p>Linear Algebra won’t be so demanding if you’re good at math, and the FYS will be demanding depending on the reading load. </p>

<p>Look, the thing that’s going to suck about Smith, and you better get used to it now because it won’t change, is that there is NEVER enough space in your schedule for you to take all the classes you want or to pursue all of your interests. Never. You will always wish you could have taken something or done something with some professor. You have to pace yourself, you can’t expect to do it all at once. Five courses you’re first semester is really inadvisable, especially if two of them have labs. Pace yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.</p>

4

<p>

Cheers and whistles, as often is the case for S&P.</p>

<p>It’s one thing…and still a bit scary…to take 20 units if four of them are things like two two-unit classes such as Dance and a musical instrument. Four academic solids is enough your first term and almost any term, especially if there are labs.</p>

<p>Given your intended major, the two sciences with labs, the math course, and the FYS are more than enough. One thing that can’t be stressed enough is that the “speed of the pitching” at Smith is a lot faster than at most high schools and you may not know how well you’ll handle it until you’ve had your baptism by fire. (Illegal use of mixed metaphors!) Some students adapt pretty easily; others are in a bit of shock the first few weeks.</p>

<p>You may have a delayed stress, too, because you don’t have any classes that demand a lot of writing outside of your FYS. D thought the jump of expectations in writing was greater than the jump of speed in problem sets, fwiw. So when you take some Social Science and Humanities courses, you may have a second shock to absorb.</p>

<p>Otoh, you may slice through like a knife through hot butter. I would just hate to count on the latter scenario.</p>

5

<p>My D is planning to be a bio major and there are core bio courses which I am sure is also true of bio chem it makes sense to start getting those out of the way like chem 1 - also be aware that chem classes alternate so next semester it would be orgo chem one and then soph year you would finish each of those. Classes with labs are very time consuming and my daughter found that Spanish and science classes were very hard to sched together. Although she managed first semester there were only 3 humanities classes in the course catalogue that fit her sched. I believe that some of the core bio classes also have a discussion so that is another part of your sched. I would have things in mind now but be prepared to be flexible when you meet with your advisor. Also the bio and chem tests were no walk in the park! My D loved her first semester bio class but it took some getting used to and she went to a challenging HS. Lots of expectation you will learn stuff in your own between classes.</p>

6

<p>One thing I read about The Groves of Academe (and I love this about it but a lot of people might not) is that it has a huge huge reading list. Do you like reading?</p>

<p>I listed Power of the Aesthetic as one of my FYS choices so if you do end up taking it we might have that together!</p>

<p>I keep changing my mind about the classes I want to take, haha. I started out in April wanting to take Russian and intro to Soc and now I’m thinking of taking Accelerated Elementary French, Western Classics in Translation, an astronomy class (not the intro, the one for non-science majors) and an art history intro.</p>

7

<p>My D was a neuroscience major, and the two most difficult courses she took were Cell Bio and Organic Chemistry II. (She took Cell Bio and Organic Chemistry I the same semester, and it was a tough, tough semester.) When you take Cell Bio, you want to make sure that you don’t overdo it, especially in your first semester when you haven’t yet adjusted to college. Not only are the labs time-consuming, but the amount of memorization is huge in that course. Will Smith definitely give you advanced placement in biology?</p>

<p>Chemistry I is much easier (according to my D) than Cell Bio, but it is still time-consuming.</p>

<p>Introductory and intermediate language courses are about as time-consuming as lab sciences, if Japanese is any indication of how the rest are taught. </p>

<p>Look at the credits. Lab courses are either 5 credits or 4 credits plus one more for the lab. Language courses are usually 5 credits. That extra credit is not just a little bit of work added on. For sciences, you will be in class three times a week, plus one almost-three-hour lab. For 5-credit languages, you have class every day. While that might not seem a lot to you now, coming from high school where you are in class from 8 am to 2:30 (or whatever), it’s major in college where you are expected to do most of your work outside of the classroom.</p>

<p>BUT, two labs in one semester are definitely doable. My D did it a lot. You just have to be careful about which you pair together and what your other courses are. Since you are going to major in the sciences, I think you should definitely take Chem I in the fall, especially since, IIRC, Organic I is a spring course. Provided that Smith gives you advanced placement, Cell Bio is an option, although you must be very, very careful with your other course selections. My D found that math courses were easy compared to the lab sciences, although they are very time-consuming since you have daily, usually graded, homework. You might want to delay Linear Algebra for a semester or two, not because of its difficulty but because of the time factor. Especially since you are also a STRIDE scholar, time will be at a premium. I suggest choosing a FYS and then something lighter, maybe Emergency Medical Care or another 2-credit course.</p>

8

<p>^That’s normal. That’s why they have a shopping period for the first two weeks of class where you can add and drop at will. I once registered for four courses in the spring, and by the time I was supposed to take those four courses in the fall, I had completely changed my mind and I ended up signing up for at totally different schedule during shopping period. </p>

<p>It’s stressful the first time you do it, but try to just take deep breaths. Eventually you schedule will sort itself out.</p>

9

<p>There is no way I’d take five courses my first semester. I realize that Smith courses will be much more difficult than the courses I took in high school and there is no way I would do that to myself.
I meant that I was leaning toward math, but if not I would take a language. I’m almost positive I want to take math though, and you are right, Spanish conflicts with lab times. Does anyone have any experience with how Linear Algebra was? </p>

<p>I love to read and I read a lot – though I am little worried about my writing ability. I loaded up on math and science APs and honors classes in high school in lieu of taking honors/AP English, so I’m afraid I’ll be behind. Which is why I really want to take a first year seminar that will really strengthen my writing skills…</p>

<p>As for Cell Bio and Chem I, I know they’ll be difficult and a lot of work, but I am pretty comfortable with taking multiple difficult science courses (which I have done throughout high school). I also have a pretty good background in Chem and I really like bio… The thought of taking a challenging humanities or English course scares me a lot more!</p>

<p>Thank you all!!! This is really helpful.</p>

<p>Any other future Smithies want to share their potential schedules?</p>

10

<p>Linear really depends on which professor is teaching it. I took it second semester first-year and it was difficult. As a math major I have to say that some of the professors are great, and some are not-so great. I took linear with Nick Horton who was amazing, but there are other professors in the department I would never want to have for that class.</p>

<p>I also took Groves of Academe, and it was great. I loved Pat Skarda. But the reading list averaged out to more than one book/week, and no matter how much you read now (I’ve been reading about 150 books/year since graduation, so yes, I read a lot) you won’t read that much in college. I didn’t read all the books on the reading list. Usually by the time I got around to do the reading portion of my homework, I was too tired to get very far in the assignment for the next day, and I took another English class and an anthropology class that semester that also had reading (though not as much as Skarda’s!). </p>

<p>Also, don’t place too much emphasis on the BC calc exam. I didn’t pass AB calc, but I took math 114 anyway and did more than fine. If you’re confident with the calculus material, you’ll be fine. There’s not much calculus in linear. And if you have questions, there are TA hours in the math forum five nights a week.</p>

11

<p>My D also swore by, not at, Nick Horton. Definitely one of her “top 10” profs…and she liked and had strong academic relationships with quite a few, so “top 10” is not as tepid as it might sound.</p>

12

<p>I have a Word document with information about 23 courses I’d love to take this fall. I’m just going to print it out, bring it to my meeting with my advisor, cross out the ones that are already full, and go from there.</p>

<p>The one really annoying thing is that I have the AP credit to place out of Intro to Psych, which I would really like to do. But if I decide to major in psych (which isn’t a given but looks very possible), I have to take Intro…thoughts? Should I take Intro or a more specialized and interesting, imo, psych class my first semester?</p>

<p>I think I’ve figured out my foreign language situation. I think I want to do the Gevena study abroad, and I know I want to take a year of Russian and a year of French, so I was thinking of taking Russian my first year and French my second year so that I remember more French for when I study abroad. Does that sound reasonable? Btw, I’m assuming intermediate level classes for both; I speak Russian conversationally, I want to do a more reading/writing-based class, and I took French in high school through AP (5 years). Also, does anyone know how possible it is to take a class in the summer through another college and get credit for it? If I end up going to Geneva I might want to take a very basic German class the summer before.</p>

<p>I think I want to go for Latin Honors, so I was looking for classes in all categories that look interesting, and I found some, even in math and science, that look good to me (stats and astronomy/neuroscience, respectively). However, I am really not one of those people who takes classes to get a certain grade or cares about rankings, and it might very well be that I fulfill all the requirements for Latin Honors but don’t end up with a high enough GPA. Is that likely/frequent?</p>

<p>Wow, this is really long. In essence, in the fall I’d like to take swag/psych/education classes (1 or 2 in those three fields, as they’re the ones I’m really looking to major in), a Russian class, a FYS (a bunch of which look really interesting) and a stats or astronomy class. Though, again, I have 23.</p>

13

<p>hey sciencegal!
My ideal schedule will be for first semester:</p>

<p>Elementary Arabic
Making of the Modern Middle East
Calculus I
and either Intro to the Bible OR an FYS(Voice of Courtesan and Lover) OR Les, Bi, Gay, Trans History in the US OR Intro to Astronomy…I"m totally not sure</p>

<p>I’m not sure on major, but I def want to do the 5 Colleges certificate in Middle East Studies and want to do at least a semester in Jordan…so we’ll see :D</p>

<p>and then I’m going to take Yoga with all these. Ill need some time to RELAX</p>

14

<p>r6l: Intro to the Bible is definitely on my list! (So is LGBT History in the US, but I’m fine with taking that later) I’ve been reading a lot of authors who use lots of Christian history/symbolism that just completely goes over my head.</p>

15

<p>t_c: as a child raised by two atheists, I really want to take some kickbutt religion classes! I’ve read parts of the bible and koran, all of the book of mormon and all of the talmud, but want to see it from academic eyes</p>

<p>I want to take WAYY too much</p>

16

<p>Oh my God (pun not intended, I swear :D) I agree with you. I read Ulysses this year and was just like “Catholicism? What?” and I need to understand the references and symbolism better.</p>

17

<p>I was just going to start a thread like this while giving my banking thread (where drama has erupted) a wide berth. Hi, sciencegal and r6l–nice to see you on here (and on Facebook). </p>

<p>So, I need opinions on my schedule as well. I’m leaning toward a history or education major, but I’m also a big fan of the science/math sector. I want to learn higher math, but I also want to work on a language. I want to take a history class, but I also want some science. </p>

<p>My top choices of classes include the following (not in preferential order):</p>

<ol>
<li>A variety of first-year seminars or Valid/Invalid Reasoning</li>
<li>Soviet History Through Film (<3)/Women in the United States Since 1865/Revolutionary Movements in 20th-Century Asia/Greek and Roman Slavery/Early Medieval World</li>
<li>Elementary Latin</li>
<li>High Intermediate French</li>
<li>Computer Science I</li>
<li>Differential Equations and Power Series (apparently, my 2/3 of a year of calculus should be adequate to prepare me for this?)</li>
<li>Education in the City</li>
<li>Elementary Russian</li>
</ol>

<p>How can I maximize my opportunities for future classes and fulfill as many interests as possible? Any recommendations from current/former students or parents on the classes I’ve listed?</p>

18

<p>phanatic, I just sent a PM to sciencegal and I think part of it really applies to your question

</p>

<p>My response:</p>

<p>My real advice is to remember that it’s June, and in the next five or six times you read the course catalog you’ll probably find a few other classes you desperately want to take. Show up for orientation with a good idea of what you want to study, but remember the advice of your adviser and other students. Remember that some classes can only be taken at one time (Groves of Academe) while linear algebra is offered every semester (and you won’t miss math that much if you take a semester away from it, especially with science courses). Use the shopping period and have a few back-up classes in mind in case you don’t like one of your initial choices (one semester, I desperately wanted to take a certain art history class. I went home after the initial meeting and the first thing I did was look for a different class that met in the same time slot).</p>

<p>It’s really a balancing act - how much can I handle work-wise, what do I have to do now because the class will only be offered once or it’s a prereq for every other class in my intended major, and what can wait until next semester or next year. Good luck!</p>

19

<p>Also remember since first years register last some classes may be full but on the good side my daughter got off three waiting lists this year for classes by going to the first few sessions and one of them turned out to be one of her favorite classes. Also once you get to Smith you will be able to talk to current students about which classes and prof’s they liek which can be very helpful.</p>

20

<p>@r6l - If you are fortunate enough to take Making of the Modern Middle East with Dan Brown, then you are a lucky girl. That course, and that professor, changed my entire life. He went to Moho for a while, but I hear he’s back at Smith now. </p>

<p>@teenage cliche - If you plan to study abroad in France or Switzerland you’re going to need two years of college French (even if you’ve had French before), so that rules out Russian unfortunately. </p>

<p>My dears, my one piece of advice is to avoid the trap of trying to take more than one language (and yes, Latin plus a modern language counts). Unless the rest of your courses are very easy, you’re probably not going to be able to do it in terms of scheduling (language classes usually conflict), and you’re definitely not going to be able to do it in terms of just physical time. You don’t have enough to do two languages, and it’s really not worth it. </p>

<p>I like the enthusiasm :slight_smile: I remember being like that. But remember to take it slow. Also, don’t cross courses off your list just because they are full. Go to the first couple of classes and often times upperclasswomen will drop out the first day/first few weeks leaving spots open. Doesn’t always work, but it can.</p>